coffey50

Hello,

I have a 1994 4runner SR5 4x4. Today she hit 206K miles and got her first oil change under my ownership. She is not stock.

The 4runner has a 4-5inch lift from rough country suspension. Which retains the springs in the rear and drops the bracket in the front *facepalm* Still running the optional stock tires size 31x10.5 *they are mud tires though*
The lift kit allows the truck run a maximum tire size of 33x12.5 according to their website but the fenders seem to be cut to allow what would seem to be 35x12.5

I wish I could ask the guy who lifted it like this "Bro, Do you even ground clearance." I have wheeled it in some lift trails and mud on said trails. She's a beast, but its a 4runners so duh.


My question is how should I proceed from here. I have a LSD planned for the back and a locker for the front. Sadly not ARB front and rear b/c college. I was debating if i should restore the stock IFS and do the ball joint spacer *more ground clearance* I keep seeing on the forum to achieve the same lift basically.
The front flexes like absolute crap, but I think the torsion bars are cranked to hell and back *this guy had no clue* and the sway bar is removed in the front.

I would love to run 35x12.5 tires with minimal lift obviously to maintain my center of gravity. I also get 13 MPG with 31x10.5 tires currently mounted which makes me think. I am over geared ? I used summit racing calc and plugged in my speed and rpm. It outputs different variations of 5.xx so I suspect 5.29 gear possibly.

Thank you for reading this long post and for any input.

Cue photos:

coffey50

No one seems to have any input on the truck.
Mods .. Should I perhaps posted this in the vehicle build section ?

BlazeN8

Do a search, type in Blazeland.

coffey50

That kit looks sweet. I checked the website and didn't see the travel spec..what kind of travel can I expect *in inches*.

Thanks so much for the post.

Team420

Wait... so you'd ditch the drop bracket for bj spacers? Did I read that right?

I have never done either... but it would seem to me the drop bracket would be the smarter option than bj spacers

coffey50

The reason why I said that is that bj spacers will keep the center line of the differential higher increasing lift at the same time. The drop bracket reduces group clearance where it counts the most right ? *the center of the vehicle*

With that in mind if i can keep my 4-5 inch drop bracket lift and get 35's to fit in their I get another 4 inches of ground clearance under the center line of the front diff.

I was just wondering what the wonderful more experienced folks here had to say about the whole situation.


Thanks for your reply

BlazeN8

Long Arms will get you about 12" of travel. Stock is about 8" BJ spacers is about 7.5" Do some Yotatech forum searches on Blazeland. Better yet try the "advanced search" option and read threads that I started.

muddpigg

iTrader: (1)

To figure gear ratio on an open dif. Lift one tire off ground and rotate one full revolution while counting how many times the driveshaft turns.

I ran 33" on only a torsion bar lift for years. Really the only way to increase ground clearance is tire size. Or portal axles. Well clearancing difs. I've seen guys on here run 35 and even 37 on IFS.

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

With your 31's what RPM's are you running at highway speeds?
Yes it is possible that you have 5.29's but have you calculated your mileage with a GPS, speedo off?

Ground clearance- you mention another 4" with 35's, for 4" more ground clearance you would need 39's. You will gain 2" of ground clearance with 35''s. It works on the radius of the tire. Who knows maybe I need more coffee

Curb shot in a handicap spot?

coffey50

Thank you, I will do that tonight and get back to you guys with the turns.

Hey,
at 65 to 70 miles an hour Im turning about 3k. 3.2k with overdrive. Without over drive its runs 4k to about 4.2k. And Ill trust you on the clearance debate. I wasn't sure if it had to do with the curcumfrence of the tire or the radius .

And yes curb shot some what in a handicap spot. That picture was taken outside of the business my father and I own on like a Sunday morning. So no Handicapped people were subjected to mistreatment in the making of that photo


Thank you guys for your input. I appreciate it.

BlazeN8

Dropzone is right. To get more ground clearance, tire size is what positions the front cross member height. A 4" drop bracket lift will lift the body, frame, transfer case, etc 4", but it wont do anything for the front cross member or rear axle housing and pumpkin.

BJ spacers will increase the angle of the LCAs (as will cranking torsion bars) and that will rise the front cross member but as the suspension compresses the cross member clearance will decrease. This is a drawback of IFS. When the suspension is at droop IFS will show more clearance than a life axle but when compressed it will show less. The clearance at the front cross member changes as the suspension is cycled.

904_runner

I ran the same suspension at first.

Got tired of the ifs and straight axled it. Still was super tippy to me, and i ended up flopping it actually.

First think i recommend is ditching those rear coils and going to leaf springs. I ran land cruiser coils and didn't know better but swapping to leafs made the rear 100x more stable to me.

coffey50

Man SAS is the dream, but I don't know if i have the skills Haha. Plus she's my DD.

How does articulation differ in the rear with coils vs leafs ?

Thanks for the input

wberry85

SAS is not about the skills, its about the $$$. If you can swap coils for leafs you can probably do the SAS. Cutting, welding, drilling...basic metal fab skills can get you a solid axle. I did mine having no idea what I was doing. Just read up and you will be fine. I DD mine on 3" TG springs and it rides fine. If you are really concerned about off road capability and simplicity (imo), its the only choice.

coffey50

I was told by someone at a 4runner meet up that the alignment of the SAS swap is the hardest part. Placing the SAS in the correct position on the frame.

wberry85

Yeah the shackle angle is tough, and you have to just hope its going to be right after you drill your frame for the front shackle, but so many people have done it at this point there is really no guess work left.

This quote says it all:

That is from someone who has done many, many swaps. I followed that exactly and my front shackle angle turned out perfect. Imo building the truck was more fun than anything. After my SAS I just sit around in my shop wishing I had a project that was as much fun. Trying to talk my wife into a 4runner just so I can do another lol.

What are you really looking to do with the truck? Plenty of wheelers out there with IFS. If you are strictly comparing the IFS vs SAS, then I believe the SAS is much more capable and I think most will agree, however a lot of factors blur the lines like driver ability, and exactly what has been done to the IFS/SAS in question.

coffey50

If you're location is right you can lend a hand when I do mine or I can pay you to do it. Considering I would need to acquire the welder and such. I live in North West Georgia.

wberry85

Yeah sure. I am happy to help you and answer any type of questions. I wouldnt be able to do it for you because it takes quite a bit of time. Some guys turn these things around in a weekend but it took me five days or so. But I would be happy to help you out on the weekends when I dont have to work.